Shame On You

  I try to live my life being positive. That there is good in people. More in common than separates us. That sort of thing. And I always think that we Canadians are better than others at showing that. A shining example of how to live and accepting of our fellow human beings. Well, the glow has faded a little on our halo and it makes me angry.

  Thursday evening an eleven-year-old girl went for dinner with her father. When she didn't return at the set time, her parents no longer live together, her Mom grew concerned. After waiting a bit and receiving a scary phone call, police were notified. At 11:30 at night an Amber Alert went out for this child who everyone feared was in trouble. 

  Canada has a state of the art emergency system. An alert can be issued over every tv, radio and cell phone across the country, or in a specific area, in times of danger or missing persons. It is implemented when police or emergency services need the public's attention. It isn't used often and it deserves our immediate attention when it is. This is the system police used late Thursday night.

  What happened next makes me angry, embarrassed, sad and furious. Over three hundred people, 300, called 911. Not to say "Hey I've seen this child" or "I know where the father is". No, these three hundred people called the emergency number to complain about the fact that the alert went out so late at night!!!!

  The complaints included it woke them up, it interrupted their hockey game, it scared them, they own the phone how dare police use it as a tool. Let those comments sink in for a moment. The police were trying to find a child, a child, who they believed was in a very dangerous situation. And people complained about being woken up. Or missing a goal in a hockey game. That tells me every single thing I need to know about them.

  In my opinion, I want every single one of those people who called and tied up the emergency operators to be fined. And not a few bucks but a lot. And I want their names released so their peers can know how callous and self-centered they really are. How they lack basic empathy towards their fellow human beings. I want them scorned and shamed. 

  What have we become when the safety of a child is less important than our sleep? Or our tv or phone? Are we actually at that point? I very much hope not but it seems like some of us are. More than I honestly thought possible.

  The little girl was Riya Rajkumar. Her father murdered her. May she rest in peace.

  Ang

  

  

Sunday Morning Politics

  I've been trying not to write about US politics lately. Not good for my blood pressure if I'm to be honest. But this morning I feel adventuresome so I want to share a few things that I've seen and heard lately that make me either very happy or very confused. Mostly confused.

  Let's start with the positive...Cory Booker. Six or seven years ago I first heard about him and he had just moved into a housing project to see what his constituents had to deal with. It was a bold new approach and when the press spoke to him about it his answers were smart, honest and he had a plan. One he did follow through on. He was impressive then and even more so now. I've waited a long time to hear him say he was running. If I was able to I would donate to his campaign. My fingers are crossed he gets the nod.

  Which leads me to Elizabeth Warren. I like her but she needs to move on. I personally don't think she intentionally lied about her heritage. Like most of us, she believed the family folklore. And if this was a pre-Trump election it wouldn't matter in the least that she was wrong. But she would never be able to get past this faux pas simply because he won't let her. For whatever reason, nothing sticks to him but his relentless attacks and name calling work. Every time. Save your money Mrs. Warren and back my friend Cory.

  Who the hell does this Matthew Whitacker think he is? Talk about rude and disrespectful. He does know he's just the "acting" AG right? After that little performance Friday he better be filthy rich because he just proved himself unemployable as a lawyer. Which means he will be working for Trump very soon. I'm sure he will do well with Giuliani.

  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is everywhere in the news lately. She is definitely a different sort of Congress member. But she is inexperienced and that is showing. I'm not saying that will hurt her within her own party or supporters but it will give lots of ammunition to the Republicans and they will use it. Just the other day a bill she is co-sponsoring had a line in it that basically said we will help you whether you are able or willing to work. Most people are not for helping folks out who simply don't want to work. She needs an experienced team around her to help her focus her words and actions. Missteps or not she may be too socialist for the country at this time. Good luck to her. Keep shaking things up!

  Children are still being separated at the southern border and the numbers are higher than were ever reported. Trump is right about one thing that area is in crisis but it's a humanitarian one and he created it. It says a lot about a country and its policies if this happens. If this was happening in a Middle Eastern or African country the United States would have been the first to condemn it. It's wrong plain and simple. 

  Here in Canada, not much is happening politically. We don't tend to have the same scandals, uproars, and craziness of our southern neighbors. In Ontario, we have our own Trump-wanna-be in Doug Ford. He wants to make cuts to education and privatize healthcare. Both huge mistakes. His arrogance will be his downfall and I will rejoice when it happens.

  Having a political junky son means we talk about politics a lot in our home. He knows so much more than we do about what is going on. One day we will be voting for him! Hopefully so will you.

  Ang

Are Our Kids Making Us Poor?

  Debt is the four letter word we all fear the most. Especially as we get older and closer to retirement. No one wants to enter their golden years with a mountain, or a hill, of debt hanging over their heads. But the sad reality is some will. And it's making many of us very nervous.

  Twenty-five percent of all Canadians retire owing more than $11,000 in non-mortgage debt. Since most people don't have company pensions that is a good chunk of change. Let's not forget many will still have a mortgage too. We will all be living off of less and for many, every penny will count. Making a car payment or even worse a credit card one could really change your standard of living. So why are going into retirement owing more than the last generation?

  I've read many articles written by experts who say the cost of living has never been higher. Houses, cars, repairs....they all cost significantly more. Groceries, hydro, insurance. You name it we are paying more for it. All that makes sense I suppose but we are making more money too on average. The only really "new" costs we have that our parents didn't is the internet and cell phones. Surely our iPhones and wifi aren't causing us to be in serious financial trouble.

  Another know-it-all blamed it on consumerism and our wanting everything right now. This makes a lot of sense to me. I personally don't even want to wait the six weeks for a new sofa let alone saving up to buy a big ticket item. Why can't everything we buy be one-day delivery like Amazon? Asking for a friend.

  But my own uninformed, not researched, no stats to back it up answer is our kids. My parents signed me up for nothing. No soccer, no dance, no hockey, no tutoring, no theater, no nothing. Parents helped you pay for education but only what they could afford. You were expected to work and save for most of it. If you didn't go farther in school well you got a job followed in close order by a crappy apartment in a not so great neighborhood with a few friends.

  Most people I know plan to pay 100% of their child's education. Whether they stay local or not. Many plan to also help them buy their first home. And pay for weddings. Not even gap year travel is off the table. They never taught their kids how to be independent and will be paying for that mistake for years to come.

  Adult children in their 20's and 30's are living in their parents home. Some with spouses and children of their own! Most rent free. I've heard every reason for it from "They are saving to buy a home" to "Jobs are hard to find". But their soon to be retired parents are footing the extra costs associated with their decisions. That explains why some folks are putting off retirement until well into their 70's. They plain and simple can't afford to stop working!

  I'm all for helping my children have an easier financial start to life than I had. I want them to not struggle like we did those first years. But they need to stand on their own at some point. If we don't teach them how to do that we have failed in a big way as parents.

  One thing my kids won't have to worry about is us retiring with a lot of debt and having no money to survive on. We plan on living in your basements, eating your food and borrowing your cars. Seems fair to us.

  Ang